Mr. Che was busy at work and felt a little pain and stuffiness in his right ear when he caught a cold a month ago, so he took some cold medicine and later the pain and stuffiness in his right ear improved, so Mr. Che didn’t care anymore. However, one day he found that he could not hear his right ear when he talked on the phone, so he went to the hospital and was diagnosed with secretory otitis media and moderate hearing loss after examination. He had developed fluid in the middle ear cavity of his right ear, which required antibiotic and hormone treatment and tympanic membrane puncture to extract the fluid. After the tympanocentesis, the doctor found that the fluid in Mr. Che’s middle ear cavity was very viscous and recommended that Mr. Che undergo a tympanic tube placement procedure, which involves placing a tiny tube through the eardrum and into the middle ear cavity. The doctor also told Mr. Che to be prepared that his right ear might not return to its original normal hearing. The middle ear is connected to the nasal and pharyngeal cavities through a thin tube, the eustachian tube. Studies have shown that 60% of secretory otitis media are related to obstruction and infection in the nasopharynx, and up to 80% of secretory otitis media in children. Therefore, when you catch a cold, viruses and bacteria from the nose and pharynx can spread to the middle ear cavity through the eustachian tube, causing inflammation and exuding fluid. If the fluid is too viscous, a tympanic tube can only be placed to help drain the fluid and restore the function of the eustachian tube, and the tube can only be removed six months or a year later. Many people think that they will get otitis media only when they get dirty water in their ears while swimming or washing their hair, so when they experience ear pain and stuffy ears after catching a cold, they think that these symptoms are also cold symptoms, and when otitis media becomes chronic, the symptoms of ear pain and stuffy ears can be reduced or disappear, so they are easily ignored. Many patients with secretory otitis media, like Mr. Che, only go to the hospital when they unintentionally find that their hearing is inconsistent in both ears, and by this time the fluid is often thicker and more viscous, making treatment quite tricky. Therefore, if the symptoms of ear pain, stuffiness, tinnitus and hearing loss appear after a cold, do not ignore them and go to the hospital for a specialist examination.